Torsional vibration can arise in a drivetrain of a motor vehicle. To suppress this torsional vibration, it is known to use torsional vibration dampers arranged in the drivetrain. Such torsional vibration dampers or rotational vibration dampers consist of a substantially discoidal pendulum flange on which a plurality of centrifugal pendulum-type absorbers in the form of mass elements are attached. The centrifugal pendulum-type absorbers can move in the radial direction and peripheral direction of the pendulum flange.
The pendulum flange is made to rotate by the drivetrain. The centrifugal pendulum-type absorbers are pushed radially outward, and the amount of outward-directed centrifugal force depends on the speed of the drivetrain. An uneven angular velocity of the drivetrain that, for example, is generated by the operating cycles of an internal combustion engine, causes deflections of the centrifugal pendulum-type absorbers in the circumferential direction of the pendulum flange, which attenuate the unevenness of the angular velocity of the drivetrain. Such a torsional vibration damper is, for example, known from German Patent Application No. 10 2009 042 831 A1.
When the speed and angular velocity of the drivetrain are low, the centrifugal force acting on the centrifugal pendulum-type absorbers can, in certain circumstances, be insufficient to keep the centrifugal pendulum-type absorbers in their positions radially to the outside. Under the influence of gravity, the centrifugal pendulum-type absorbers can instead shift so that neighboring centrifugal pendulum-type absorbers bump against each other. This generates noise that is perceived as annoying and problematic.